I have 18'' ruff racing wheels that can't be balanced, i got them from a wholesale distributor . i even took the car to have balanced on the car and was told three out of four were either out of round or maybe centric rings would help, i got the rings but still have wheel hop. i have to take them back and take off the wheels my self and let there guy check them out,i'm sure they will replace them, well maybe i should say i hope so anyway. has anyone had such problems with aftermarket wheels?
thanks Phil

 

Phil
Certainly there are lesser quality wheels out there. I personally have seen wheels that where drilled off center. More than once. Hubcentric rings will certainly help in most assembly problems but if the center is bored off center it will actually cause more problems. Another thing you may want to consider is the brake rotor clips that are put on from the factory. If the aftermarket wheels you purchased do not have a releif cut on the mounting surface of the wheel, those clips need to be removed. Good luck.

 

thanks, i am going to take the time next week to go back to the distributor and get them checked out.
Phil

 

I bought just 16 inch aftermarket rims, I had to put the Hub rings on took most of my vibration out. My dad who also owns a tire shop, said that they make these beads that are in a bag, you break the tire down and pour them in there and it help alot with the balancing. That us my next step, I'll find out what they are excatly tonight and let you know might be worth a shot.

Tireman is right make sure you take those Clips off the brake rotors, as that will casue a huge vibration, I found that out the hard way!!

 

i took the wheels back and they bored out the lug holes and put black shems in to fit the lug bolts, so we would know where to put the wheels on , they are multi drilled wheels (except one) they said the wheels were mounted on the 5/12 bolt pattern instead of 5/10. i don't think that was the case. we alsoadeed centric rings, and still have wheel hop in the right rear and a shimmy in the stering wheel at 55 to 60 mph. the outfit i purchased them from (through a friend) is a wholesale distributor so we had to take the wheel sto him at 9am for his guy to check out, whet back at noon and they had not looked at them, i explain to the guy my car is on a lift, at a shop and why was it taking so long, oh he had alot of orders to get out, $20,000 order a$50,000 order, so i said well i guess i'm small potatoes, but today is when you said you could do this and i need my wheels so i can get my car off the shop lift and this pissing me off. so tells me to get out of the building and never wanted to see my face in there again, your not my customer steve is .(my friend) steve was with me so i went outside as instructed, the guy calls steve at 5:30 saying the wheels were ready, the shop where my car was closed at 5:00 i took the day off work to get this solved, so at this point, my friend said he will ask for a fund and return the wheels, if they refuse then he will file a dispute with his credit card co. ANY SUGESTIONS?
Phil

 

Man that sucks. Just another example of those "Great Deals". First, If they mounted those up using the 5-112 pattern there is a possibility they stretched the studs or warped the fron rotors and may need to be replaced or another wheel may not EVER fit right. Second, if they drilled out the wheels and installed spacers to fit your HHR, that means they where not the right wheels in the first place. If you have to modify a wheel to make it fit;( IE: Spacers, Adapters, Bolt hole drilling ; it's not the right wheel.) The reason the guy told you to get out of his shop is because he did'nt want you to see how he was making those wheels fit. Get your money back and spend a little extra on the right wheel.

 

we called them and told them ,same problem as befor and he said the boss would call tomarrow, well today he did'nt call so we will call the cc. co. and file a dispute, and see what happens. i have never purchased after market wheels befor,so i did'nt know ,what i know now. thanks for your help.I will buy new wheels, and from a dealer who can supply the correct wheel for the hhr.

 

Phil...this sucks.

I have dealt with aftermarket wheels for years.

here is what our policy used to be.

NO car should EVER need hub-centric rings to mount a wheel. If the wheel requires hub-centric rings, it is a "universal application" designed to fit more than one car. it can be done, but is technically NOT the correct way to mount a wheel. That is just a way to make the wrong wheel 'fit".

No lug holes should EVER be bored out and sleeved...especially if the wheels are not hub-centric, which yours are not since you need hub-centric rings.

basically, your wheel fits on the car 1 of two ways...

either the hub bore of the wheel is the CENTERING point-
OR
the lug nuts center the wheel.

Yours do neither. Yours uses a multi-lug design, and uses either phenalic(plastic) centering rings to isolate the hub bore to your hub, or aluminum centering rings to center whe wheel.

if this WAS a succesful practice, all your lug nuts would do is hold the wheel on.

but as soon as they bored the lug holes, and sleeved them, they eliminated the possibility of the lug nuts SAFELY centering the wheels.

when you talk to the seller, remind them of a couple things-
1)liability. now that they have beeb notified that the wheels are a mis-application, yet they are continuing to help you "make them work" means they either dont care about your safety, or are unaware of their liability. Its like a tire seller not wanting to sell you a speed rated tire for a Porsche Turbo....

2)if you have to modify a wheel to make it fit, or modify the way the wheel mounts to the car to eliminate any driveability issues, something is VERY wrong.

I would demand a refund, or a credit towards a proper fitting wheel. Manufacturers are continuing to mass-produce 1 wheel that has 8+ lug holes to fit multiple applications. This is a numbers game to them...if they can make 1200 wheels that fit 30 different makes/models of cars out there, they save Millions of dollars down the line...

I would NOT use these wheels at all. period. You've modified the lug holes, and changed the absolute most important part of the wheel application...how it stays on the car.

If you need help dealing with these clowns, feel free to email me.
smokewagonhhr at aol.com

good luck...and find another wheel...not a "generic" one...a wheel that is made to fit your car...not a bunch of cars.

I'd rather you be safe, and sacrifice a bit on wheel design, than have a killer set of wheels mounted on your totalled HHR that sits at a junk yard while you recover in a hospital bed, dealing with insurance companies and lawyers who keep questioning why uou installed a wheel that doesnt fit properly.

sounds harsh...but it has happened....

 

Well put Smoke! Nice to see someone else agrees with the importance of proper fittment. Too often I see people come in wanting their tires rotated, that went all the way in to Houston to get a deal on some wheels that have been altered or have adapters or spacers to make them fit. In those cases we simply WILL NOT touch that vehicle because of safety and liability reasons. It concerns me to know that these people are driving the same roads as I am.

 

when the aftermarket wheel industry took off in the late 90's, manufacturers struggled to keep up with demands, and prices were high. That was because wheels were designed to fit pretty much 1-2 applications.

Now they are mass-produced in designs that fit multiple applications.

Bottom line is this-if you have to modify a vehicle to make a part fit, then chances are, it is the wrong part to begin with. The same goes for if you have to modify a part to fit a vehicle, then chances are it's the wrong part FOR the vehicle.

when it comes to wheels, I simply would not install it if it does not fit PROPERLY right out of the box. No spacers, no "centering rings", and no lug bore sleeves.

back spacing
off-set
hub bore
bolt pattern
centering method(lug or hub)

if any of those are incorrect, it is not a proper fitment. Unfortunately, there are so many designs out there, finding a wheel that is a direct and correct application right out of the box is not easy, and choices are usually limited simply due to wheel manufacturers insistence on making 1 wheel fit more than 1 vehicle.